Ines

Thank you! So put three (?) fence posts around the tree and stabilize with soft slings?

Hi everyone, we are having a very mild winter with temperatures up to 14 degrees Celsius. My tree starts to grow little buds; I've attached two photos, apologies for the poor quality, it was difficult to capture. Am I right that we better move the tree asap??? I was going to order all the recommended items over Christmas and had originally planned to move the tree some time in January, but I might go to a garden centre today and see what I can get so that we can make faster progress. I didn't expect this to be happening so soon as last winter it didn't grow buds until early February this year... So I need: Hessian to wrap Slings to lift Good compost A watering pipe Fungi Did I forget anything? Thank you for all your help and Happy Christmas!

Thank you very much Badgerland. I'll make sure to have this bought before I move the tree.

Thank you Bunzena, I must have missed that. It said to cut the rootball 4-5ft wide - is that in total or each direction from the trunk, ie diameter is double? Thank you. It'll have to be mid-late January so as the buds came out in February last year. Hopefully the weather is on our side! No idea how it survived until now, I watered it once a week in the summer! But there's a stream running alongside the house - unless the ground is so moist, it got water from there. How much would a tree this size cost? I'm on the field daily to check the animals, I will incorporate it into my routine to check up on my tree and give it some TLC I planted it shortly after moving here and I cannot imagine not seeing it every day. I read Doug's thread about the Rowan also (great work!). So far I think we should: 1) Dig the hole in the new location and prune the canopy before starting to dig out the tree 2) Cut root ball 18-30 inches deep and 4-5ft wide --> what about the house-side, is it best to 'pull' on the roots, hoping they come out or better try to get in and cut some? 3) How do we lift the tree??????? 3.5t digger available and big tractor with front loader (guess the front loader would do the trick?) --> How do I prepare for the lift? How do I get the hessian (?) and pig wire under/around the root ball? 4) Slings under the root ball? Are there any YouTube videos you can recommend where it shows how to safely lift and move a tree? 5) I have fence posts here, would I put some around the tree and secure the trunk with slings? 6) Can it be planted on a slope or does it have to be level ground?? The slope is well drained but there are two springs for water supply. So these are 'good' fungi? Where do I get those? Thank you all so much for your help!!!

Hi Badgerland, thank you very much for sharing this story. Every little piece of information helps. I will ensure there are no air pockets in the roots/soil when re-planting the tree in its new location. What is the fungi for? Thank you for those details. I think we have to dig the root ball as carefully as possible in the area that we can access, as for the part that is at the house side, some roots might break or tear anyway, so I am afraid there will be some damage. I think reducing the crown size will help the tree as it won't have well established roots in the new place and hence nourishing a smaller crown area with the reduced root area makes sense to me? Thank you for your help!

Hi Dan, thank you very much for your input. I am renting this house and my landlord has become increasingly concerned that the tree is damaging the house. (Is it though?) I had his okay to plant it, but I never expected it to grow that big. I actually planted three acers, one died, one is 1,5m high and this one is just happy out and got huge... I can ask my landlord about the depth of the foundation if it helps. The house has no basement level, so it's only ground floor. I am not sure if that is sufficient information for you? I have a friend with a 3,5t digger and a tractor, I was hoping this would be sufficient machinery to move the tree? If a mini digger is required, I can hire one. What else do I need to get? I was hoping to have bought my own house by the time the tree has to be moved, but no such luck, the property prices have gone through the roof here and I haven't found anything suitable in the area. I do however have a little bit of land, where I was hoping to move the tree to. As I would assume that it really shouldn't be with livestock (the horses and sheep might eat it - and it might be toxic, plus they ruin it!?), I was going to put it into a small area of that field which is currently fenced off. My next questions actually are: Can it be planted on a slope? There are two springs and the flat area is unfortunately waterlogged, so not really an option for this tree.. Am I best planting it facing the same way as it is now, which is Southwest? Do I need a soil sample to ensure the ground is suitable? Should I put fence posts or sticks around it to support it? Should I plant it against a wall again as it was used to that or would a large tree (instead of where the house is now) help? I live on the Northwest coast of Ireland, we are not short of water - do I still need the flex pipe? I guess wind shelter is not unimportant? That's great news! I did read up on it and some of the websites actually say that a trench the same width as the crown should be dug 6-12 months before the tree is being moved. It says this will encourage additional root development which will aid the tree nourishing itself once planted in the new location? A bit late now anyway, but would this be common practice? Or what do you do? How do you prepare? The digger is here at the moment (for other work), so if there is anything that can or should be done now, I can get this arranged. There is plenty of room to work, but obviously we can only dig a half circle around the tree due to the house being on the other side? Thank you very much Doug, that is very helpful. I will read this thread. That is good to hear, I was worried that I will have to say goodbye to this lovely tree. Okay, so how deep do we need to go when digging out? That's no problem, I can do that - a day before we move it? That time last year it already had buds which started to open. Would that still be okay or too late? We get a lot of rain here, so watering won't be an issue I guess? We barely get frost though (coastal area), so is that a good thing? I thought the slope might help to keep it drained, but would it be stable enough for this size of tree to move there? Big time! I really hope it'll make it. Thank you to every one of you for all your input and advice! You are super helpful, very kind, thank you!

Thank you for your reply and input Steve. I really appreciate it. I planned to take the small dry stone wall down and dig the tree out as wide as the crown is. I guess though as the tree is so close to the house, we’d only get half a root ball? I would love to hang on to this tree if at all possible, but if there is only a very small chance of it surviving, there is little sense putting in the effort and money to dig it out and transfer it? As it cannot stay where it is, what’s my best option here? Thank you very much for all your help! Ines

Hello Specialists, I have a 13 year old Japanese Maple tree (the split leaves type) which has to be moved from where it currently is located - in a flower bed close to a house wall. Due to the age of the tree, I am concerned that chances of survival are limited, is this correct? Is there a realistic chance that the tree will be able to withstand a transfer? If yes, would mid-January be a good time to move it, when the tree sleeps and has no leaves? I am very grateful for any advice. With many thanks and kindest regards, Ines